Vehicle seats often include a reclining seat back, as well as additional seat adjusting functions. For example, a vehicle seat may have a folding seat back that can fold forward, or the seat may be released to slide or roll forward, in order to facilitate entry into a rear seat in the vehicle. In some cases, the seat back may fold partially forward—for example, approximately 45 degrees—or the seat back may fold fully forward, such that the seat back is approximately parallel to the seat bottom or the vehicle floorboard.
Furthermore, some vehicle seats are designed to “tumble,” fold, or collapse, for example, into a stowage configuration. For example, the seat bottom may be releasably attached to the floorboard at the rear by way of a latching mechanism, and hinged to the floorboard at the front, so that the seat back can fold fully forward, or down, and the seat assembly can be rotated forward into a stowage position. Other seats can be configured to fold down into a stowage cavity in the floorboard.
In order to facilitate such functionality, vehicle seats can include control mechanisms with handles on or near the seat. Generally, a vehicle seat may include a separate handle for each function—for example, one handle to allow the seat to recline, another handle to allow the seat back to fold forward, and another handle to allow the seat to tumble. However, multiple handles can be difficult to install in a vehicle seat, as well as inconvenient to operate, and can cause operator confusion.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that can provide actuation for multiple vehicle seat functions with a single handle.